Formulators of fabric care and laundry detergent compositions include various ingredients, inter alia surfactants, cationic softening actives, anti-static agents, dye transfer inhibitors, and bleach-damage mitigating agents, for the purpose of improving cleaning, fabric appearance, fabric feel, fabric color and to extend the duration of fabric life. Ingredients which are added to these compositions must not only provide a benefit, but must be compatible with a variety of product forms, i.e. high density granules, liquid dispersions, isotropic liquids including clear, colorless/translucent liquids which may include principal solvents inter alia 1,2-hexanediol, 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol (TMPD).
Many adjunct ingredients which provide fabric enhancement benefits are highly fabric substantive and, therefore, once deposited on the fabric surface remain with the fabric thereby providing the intended benefit until chemically altered or until displaced by a more fabric substantive material. High molecular weight modified polyalkyleneimines have been used in granular and liquid detergent compositions as well as rinse-added fabric conditioning compositions to mitigate fabric damage. These highly fabric substantive ingredients can be deposited onto fabric at various optimal times, for example, in the alkaline laundry wash liquor or the near neutral pH environment of the laundry rinse cycle. Once deposited they serve a variety of purposes depending upon the absolute structure of the polyalkyleneamine or polyalkyleneimine and whether the polymeric amine is modified (for example, ethoxylated).
Color integrity is an important aspect of fabric enhancement. When certain polyamines are deposited onto fabric they enhance color fidelity via various mechanisms. Other polyamines intercept peroxygen bleaching agents at the fabric surface. However, many polyamines which provide fabric benefits also have a propensity to chelate heavy metals, inter alia, copper, which are components of transition metal-comprising fabric dyes. The chelation, and hence the extraction of, these heavy metals is ruinous to the fidelity of fabric color.
Therefore, there is a long felt need to provide colored fabric with protection against the pejorative effects of certain laundry-added fabric integrity materials, inter alia, polyamines which provide fabric wear protection and fabric lubricity benefits. In addition, there is a need for materials which will be highly water soluble or water dispersible, while exhibiting a high degree of fabric substantivity. And there is also a need for a material which will provide a high level of fabric dye protection on an efficient per unit weight basis.